Brutus and Sandsstill short stories
by BrutusDeagon
Summary: I make these as love notes and gifts for Sandsstill. The OCs herein are mine but based off of our fursonas. I include my fluff files here as well. enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Happy Independence day! I wrote this in a flash today. Not kidding. I had this entitled fourth of july but Cimar didn't receive my title for some reason. Shrug. Anyway confused he gave it the title Fireworks which I absolutely love for this short. **

**Fireworks**

The old renovated mansion right outside Foxworth sat on a hill overlooking both the town and a bit of the skyline of Zootopia from the highest balcony. Two deck chairs sat side by side waiting for their owners and, of course, sundown. The black furred wolf Brutus and his red and grey furred rabox girlfriend Sandy were downstairs sending his daughter Lilly off with his sister for the fireworks in the city.

"Have fun and don't cause trouble," he told her as she climbed into her aunt's van.

His sister drove away shortly thereafter and the couple made their way to the waiting chairs. On the way he grabbed a platter of cheeses, rolled deli meat, and assorted veggies. Sandy snagged a couple thermoses of iced tea and followed him up the stairs. He slid open the glass door to the balcony and let her go first. They placed the chairs close and then grabbed a couple small tables for their drinks.

They took turns feeding each other for a laugh and then settled in to watch the stars start to come out as they waited for what they knew was coming. As the sun's last rays vanished a dull boom could be heard coming from Foxworth. Just as the starburst rocket burst an even fainter sound could be heard from Zootopia. As the night went on the couple watched the night sky light up from two directions at once.

The double finale of burning colors was ignored as they shared the first of many kisses that night. While she had been distracted by the two fireworks shows he had slipped a bracelet on her wrist. A simple charm bracelet with a silver chain and two charms. A dove of silver with an emerald eye and an onyx moon. When she looked at the thing causing the extra weight she had pounced him.

"It's beautiful, Brute." she said breathless as she came up for air.

"It's nothing compared to you." he replied scooping her up in his arms and taking her to bed.

"You're biased," she teased.

"Just because I love you doesn't mean it isn't true."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm new to the fluff file stuff but after yesterday when my girlfriend told me she was in love with me, I got to thinking about what our life together might be like. The two characters portrayed are mine and can be found on Ao3 in the story "Bunnies invented Friends with Benefits". **

Sandy awoke late one morning to find Brutus had already left for work. The house she shared with her boyfriend was cold being so close to Tundra Town. Getting on some sweatpants and a shirt of his she walked blearily to the kitchen. The red and grey bunny-fox hybrid opened the fridge and got out the orange juice. She got a glass from the cupboard and poured herself a drink. She sat at her usual spot at the table to drink it. Then once it was gone she made her way to her recliner next to which was the table her laptop sat charging.

A yellow sticky note blocked the screen. On it was a note.

_Backtrack your steps my beautiful Dove. _

Confused she picked up her glass and felt another piece of paper.

_Just wanted to say good morning. Put me away. _

Sandy smiled and finished what was left before washing the glass and going to the cabinet. Right above the knob for the cabinet door was a third note.

_Don't forget the juice. Btw you slept right through my good morning kiss._

Sure enough another note was on the carton.

_I miss you and will be back before you know it. Did you make the bed?_

Sandy shook her head as though answering his question then made her way back to their room.

…

Quietly the black furred wolf snuck inside and crept up behind his Dove. In his right paw he held a paper bag with breakfast sandwiches and in the left a cardboard cup holder from Snarlbucks. One with his favorite caramel mocha and the other with a simple black tea.

"Good morning," Brutus said nuzzling his muzzle into the side of her neck, "I brought breakfast after my first appointment got canceled. Did you like my notes?"

She grinned and stuck one to his forehead. He handed her the bag and cup holder then grabbed the note with a frown.

_I love you_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: another fluff file from the Bunnies invented Friends with Benefits story world. Hope you all enjoy it.**

The wolf called Brutus had just gotten home. He'd finished his appointments with his clients early and was pleased with how the day had gone. Opening the door to the house just outside Tundra Town that he shared with his love, he stepped inside to see his girls busy sitting across from each other in the living room drawing. Of course they would be drawing. His daughter Lilly was sketching a dragon in black and white as usual it's detail was amazing. His girlfriend Sandy looked up every now and then before glancing back at her drawing. They had music playing in the background. A jazzy number he remembers is called Moondance. Van Morrison is responsible for that one if he remembers correctly.

"I'm home," he finally says drawing their attention to him.

Lilly, her fur a stark contrast of black and white stripes and her face the shape of her mother's but with a harsh reality to it that her mother never saw, set her drawing aside and stood to give her dad a welcoming hug. Her mother was a white tigress but the girl's temperament was closer to that of her father. She was quiet and reserved most of the time but clever and creative.

Sandy moved in to kiss him as his daughter broke away. He spotted her picture was a portrait of Lilly. Brutus grinned down at the bunny-fox that had stolen his heart.

"Care to dance my Dove?" he said slipping a paw around her waist.

"There's no room in here," she rolled her eyes at him in answer.

He opened the window so the music could be heard outside and took her outside to dance in the moonlight. Lilly watched with a smile on her face as her father danced with his girlfriend. The song ended and he stopped spinning her slowly.

"Just one more dance with you, my love?" He asks with a grin.

She nods and Lilly puts on another song.

"Really?" Brutus laughs as 'Dancing in the Moonlight' starts playing. "Little on the nose, right?"

"Yeah, but it is always a magical night as long as I have you." Sandy says before going on tiptoes to kiss him.

Neither of them notice the music stop as they sway and spin as they look into each other's eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Nightmare**

Brutus sat bolt upright gasping for breath. He picked up his phone and glasses. He slipped them onto his muzzle and lit up the screen to see the time. 3am. Damnit, stupid dream had to wake him up two hours before he had to get up. The thought made him nervous for a moment and he looked at his beautiful bed companion. Still the same as she always was. Her red back fur shimmering in the light of his phone. His relieved sigh was a tad too loud and she stirred in her sleep and sat up blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Brute? What time is it?" Sandy asked tiredly.

"Three." he answered and kissed her forehead.

She looked at him and tilted her head in curiosity, "What's up?"

"Oh, just a bad dream that can't happen." he said trying to deflect her question.

"Tell me what it was. Maybe once it's out of your head we can get back to sleep," she said with a little smirk pleased that _something _could get under his pelt bad enough to bug him.

"I don't know. Maybe I should just keep this one to myself." he said, "It's kinda disturbing."

She reached up and flicked his ear. He flinched and decided he'd just give in to protect his ears.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you, Dove." he chastised lightly.

"So I was sitting with you at the table and we were having a cake with Lilly to celebrate her graduation and moving out. Well at that time you get up to get the cake…." he paused unsure if he should say it or how. She began to reach for his pointed ears again so he just spit it out quickly. "You were pregnant and I'm not talking normal baby bump type thing but like you had an elephant size beach ball in there."

Her eyes as he went on with the sentence became huge. She looked at her own stomach as though to reassure herself it wasn't true then back at him.

"You know what? You were right that is disturbing." she got up after speaking and snatched her sweat pants and a shirt that was his. "Since there's no way we are getting back to sleep tonight, I think I'm going to go make some coffee."

"My turn for making the eggs," he said quickly as he got up and tossed on the pants he left on the floor the night before.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: first song is I'm an Asshole by Dennis Leary. Switch white with pred. Second one is Poisoning Pigeons in the Park Tom Lehrer. Replace squirrel with lizard for the zootopian version though. Hehe. last one is the Dickhead song by Miles Betterman.**

**how to tame the grumpy wolf**

The night had not gone as planned. Brutus had set everything up beforehand. The movie that turned out to be awful. The fire in the restaurant kitchen that forced them to get fast food someplace else. With every mishap his mood got worse. Traffic on a Saturday night when all he wanted was to get home and sulk. _Perfect end to this awful night._

_..._

Sandy was paying attention. At first she thought making fun of the movie was helping and it did… until the fire department came. Bugga Burga was busy and the line took far too long for her hungry wolf's patience. Or his stomach. It had complained loudly that it was empty. So of course he did too.

It was just a little sarcastic and slightly jerky comments that came from his muzzle. Finally sick of his bullshit she kissed him full on the mouth. The shock on his face was priceless. Bonus was it lasted till their food was ready.

Traffic though… _what on earth to do about traffic? _She smirked and switch her phone to the cars bluetooth and started a playlist she'd put on her phone from their home computer. Sandy giggled as the first song started.

…

He glanced over at her the corners of his mouth twitching. As it got to the chorus he was singing loudly and giggling like mad. Brutus turned up the volume and rolled down the windows. The mammals in the surrounding vehicles stopped honking and started listening. Soon Brutus wasn't the only one not singing. Next song was more upbeat considering the lyrics were so disturbing. He knew what the next one was and quickly licked Sandy's face while they were stopped. As the third song began he was remembering an author's agent who drove him nuts. He had sent this song to him through email and the guy had not been amused one bit. The wolf had just laughed in his face the next day as the author fired the agent.

Finally they got home and he was as happy as could be. He picked her up and brought her inside nuzzling her neck as he slammed the door.

'**Music tames the savage beast'**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ok so spanish speaking reviewer I had to use google translate to figure out what you said. The disturbing thing is that they are empty nesters. More babies would take away their newfound freedom. One last thing, an ELEPHANT size beach ball FILLED with babies. You have to take care of them. How is that not disturbing?**

Brutus Deacon Neyman was busy retyping a chapter for his fantasy adventure series. The midnight black wolf was having trouble staying in the readers eyes and not the characters. His descriptions and explanations were giving him a headache as he tried to yet again clarify how things in his world worked. He put his computer to sleep and went to go and see if his Dove was feeling any better. She had been down lately and he wanted to cheer his muse up. He found her on their lion size bed her ear buds in and he could just make out some depressing music. He picked up the notepad on his bedside table and a pencil out of the top drawer and wrote a 3 word note.

_Want a hug?_

He dropped it in front of her and hastily scrawled out another. Then waited for her to acknowledge the first. Sandra Dielyelah Neyman read his note and nodded without looking. The pad still in his paws, Brutus wrapped himself around her in a hug. He cleverly held the pad where she wouldn't miss it.

_I love you_

She whispered an answer "I love you too."

A soft sound of breathing came from her wolf and she knew he'd fallen asleep with her in his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I've been tossing this one around for a while and decided to finally write it. I'm terrible to write this but I really needed to get this stupid joke out of my head. This one is highly inappropriate humor but the coffee is real so if someone says they have a really great coffee make sure you look it up first. **

**Best/worst coffee in the world**

The city of Zootopia has many wonders within its borders. One of them that is more mundane is how many coffee shops are in the city. Brutus once noted three Snarlbucks within a block of each other. His mate Sandy preferred tea to coffee, but for Brutus there was nothing else that could get him up in the morning. Well, at least up on his feet.

Most mornings he would stumble into the kitchen and fix a mug. Except for those days where she wore him out before they even got out of bed. On those days she would let him sleep and go to a coffee shop for something fancier as a reward.

This morning she found this new shop that had just opened. The sign read the Kopi Luwak Cafe. The place looked like it catered to upper class customers and so she thought this place must have good coffee. A number of civets were working as staff and it looked like all of them were eating berries.

_Huh, nice that they let the staff snack on stuff while on duty. _She thought absentmindedly.

There were mainly prey mammals as customers and not one canine. The coffee was a tad expensive but she didn't think much of it. Taking it home to her male was all that was on her mind as she drove home. The smell of the coffee was richer and fuller than what he usually drank. She hoped he liked it. He was in the kitchen at the counter cutting up some melon for their breakfast as she came in.

"Hey there Dove." he said sleepily as he continued preparing. "I thought I would get breakfast started while you were out this time."

"Here's your coffee love. It's from a new place." she said passing him the togo cup.

Brutus popped off the top and sniffed the aroma of the coffee. "Smells kinda nutty…. Is this a joke?"

Sandy looked at him confused and he saw that she had no idea what he was talking about.

"The place you went was run by civets and they were eating reddish berries, right?" he asked. "I can smell them."

"Yeah… why aren't you drinking it?" she asked.

"Because this is really shitty coffee." he said with a grin.

"Okay I'm missing something here." her ears at her confused setting and her head tilted.

"Get out your phone and look up Kopi Luwak while I dump this shit down the toilet where it belongs." he said chuckling.

On his way to the nearest bathroom he could hear quite clearly her voice crying out in shock, "Eww oh my Gods that's disgusting!"

"Well at least I could smell it before I tasted it, Dove." he called as he laughed at her repeated cries of "Ew. Ew. gross."

**Kopi Luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. It is because of this that many believe it is also the best. It is actually the shittiest coffee in the world, literally. Civets eat coffee berries. They then defecate and the partially digested coffee beans are removed from the shit. So yes the most expensive coffee in the world actually tastes like civet shit.**


	8. Chapter 8

The limousine was the first to take it's passengers from the party. The driver had worked for the owners for years and knew he'd be needed early so he had stayed with the car when his fellow drivers left to go play poker. A pity, he'd wipe the floor with these guys. His boss was a publisher and fiction writer in his own right, and the bosses' wife was one of his best selling writers. It was never a surprise when he would get the text to meet them at some side entrance to get them out of there. Neither of them were very social mammals and only stayed long enough to be seen and possibly eat some food.

Boss was in his best suit with a little black bow-tie tied a little crooked on purpose. Mrs. Boss was in a sheer red dress the shimmered and showed more than she liked. Necessary or not for business she only wanted her wolf to see her this scantily clad.

"Brutus dearest," she said as silkily as her fox ancestors would have, "If that tiger leers at me one more time at one of these parties I'm blinding him."

"If he says he'd like some time with you one more time I'm skinning him alive." Her husband said angrily. "Sandy, what do you think of a tiger skin rug?"

They and their driver chuckle darkly at the thought even though they would never do such a thing. Kick him in the balls or throw a drink in his face… well that's why they left early. Killing or permanently maiming someone was not in the cards for them.

"Home, if you would Joe. Oh and make sure the scanner is on."

"Yes I think we could use something to blow off steam," Sandy agreed.

On the way home gunfire at a train station comes over the police scanner and the grey fox driver hits a series of buttons on the steering wheel. Armored panels slide up the windows out of the doors and trunk the license plate flips around to show the letters BBWLFLLRD. The windshield was covered last and became a flat screen display showing the road ahead.

Brutus draws out of his shirt a medallion and closes his eyes. When he opens them he becomes an armored wolf looking like he's fresh out of the middle ages. The metal as black as his fur and covered with Celtic scrollwork that glows white. Sandy waits till they are closer to the station then opens the roof. Out flies a red winged figure cloaked and hooded in bright red. The air around her shimmers with heat as she flies to the roof.

The armored limo takes gunfire from masked mammals as it drifts to a stop. The back door opens and out steps the armored Big Bad Wolf. He calmly walks forward into the gunfire not caring as round after round hits and falls to the ground. Screams from inside of 'fire' makes him laugh. Little Red has taken advantage of the attention he drew.

BB Wolf charges forward punching first one then the other of the gun mammals. They hit the ground hard and don't move. Then mammals with clothes aflame start running out and right into his metal fists. Little Red emerges from the building calmly walking out escorting the civilians to safety. A wave of her paw extinguishes the fires and the hero couple get back into their armored Limo.

"Home Boss?" Joe asks as though they had just left the party.

"Yes, Joe. I think home is a great idea." Brutus says from the back seat as the two heroes assume their normal forms once more.


	9. Chapter 9

Full moon

A/N: Funny thing after I posted my latest chapter, 'full moon', Sandsstill, my girlfriend emailed the birthday story she wrote for me. Due to technical difficulties, she will not be able to post it. Because of that, I asked if I could do it for her and she says it is mine to do with as I wish. Sooo with that in mind, I decided to change this chapter into two mini chapters containing the two Full Moon stories within it. First one is the one she wrote for me. The second is mine. My birthday is in December by the way she just wanted to show me the similar themes.

The fox bunny hybrid heard the door close and turned sharply as footsteps made their way down the hall. She waited nervously as she heard him hanging up his coat and clutched the side of the apron she was wearing when he started moving again. Brutus tipped his nose and let it lead him to the kitchen, opening his eyes as she stood there grasping the straws that weren't there.

"Sandy?"

She shrugged her shoulders grinning as he looked over the table and chuckled.

"Get a little bake happy today did you?" He asked as he looked over the table. "This is a bit much love."

She shook her head as he stepped closer looking things over. The wolf blinked as he spotted the chicken on the counter and shook his head as she grabbed several bowls and ushered him to the next room. He blinked as he looked around and shook his head.

"What ...You cleaned up everything and set this up?" She nodded as she motioned to the large chair and sat several things around it, waiting for him to sit down before she was fluffing pillows around him and curled over the back of the chair after handing him a controller.

He looked at the screen chuckling as she rolled her paws over his shoulders. "I guess I'm going to be online for a while?" When she nodded as he looked back at her, he tipped his head and sighed. "You are being really quiet tonight."

She nodded still grinning and he shrugged as he turned his attention to the screen. Several messages popped up that had him chuckling as she kept massaging his shoulders. "This took you awhile didn't it? I know you aren't good with these kinds of things, and where's my girl at anyway?"

She took a seat on the arm of the chair and he narrowed his eyes as she giggled and moved. "I sent her over to her friend's house for the night. We'll have your party tomorrow."

"It's my Birthday and you told her to go away?" He chuckled as she shook her head with a mortified expression.

"I'm just teasing. I know you wouldn't do that… my mother on the other paw ..."

"Hey," she squeaked as he chuckled." I like your mother, I'm just a little ...terrified of her."

Brutus laughed as she shook her head. "I think more than of your daughter."

"She won't bite you." He laughed as she scrunched her nose.

"Says you." She replied as she handed him a cold drink.

"So, what, am I just sitting around playing games tonight?"

She nodded as he shook his head grinning. "I thought maybe I could watch and see if I could

try to understand it, and later I can give you your birthday present when you are done?"

The wolf tipped forward smiling as she wiped her paws down the apron she was wearing.

"Hmm, no kits, quiet house, no chores, I get to goof off with my friends all night…. I'm liking where this is going already."

She giggled as she left the room and brought him back a plate. They sat and ate dinner as he was explaining the game he had set up and finished their dinner with her watching for a couple of hours before she left and cleaned up the kitchen. Brutus grinned as she handed him a piece of Blueberry cake he was twisting his head trying to figure out.

"It's a recipe I found online. The rest is for the party tomorrow when your family is

here. It has chocolate in it too. Don't ask me to try it though because I don't like blueberries."

"I remember. This is pretty good."

She sat with him as he ate and played some more and nearly jerked as his paw brushed over her head. She had fallen asleep sitting next to him on the floor as she rested over the arm of his chair.

"Sandy, I think we should go to bed." She started to pick up the plates and he shook his head.

"It can wait this once." They were both too picky to leave it though and took it to the

Kitchen.

She followed him back to the living room and smiled as his attention shot to the balcony window.

"What the….?" He shook his head as he looked out the large door and looked back to see her smiling. "How is there a full moon when it's the night of the new moon tonight?"

"Happy Birthday." She smiled as he shook his head again. "Wait here. I'll get it for you."

The wolf curled his brow as he watched her step out and wave a paw around the top of it before it hovered above her paw as she carefully walked back to him, the glowing little orb above her paw staying a few inches from her palm as she stepped in front of him again. He looked it over grinning as he caught sight of the metallic magnetized disc in her paw and saw the base of

the moon had a shadow that held the opposite magnet with a bulb that lit it making it glow.

"I had it up with fishing wire. I hoped you would spot it without me saying anything."

"You are giving me the moon for my birthday?" He asked and she giggled as she

shrugged.

"I know it's a wolf thing but I love it too." She sighed as she looked it over before looking back and seeing him smiling. "I'm a half breed. Vixens are usually aggressive when they find a life mate, but does are very quiet and the bucks take the lead. I…. have never been good at taking a first step so, this is a start, to give you back what you have given me. I think like a fox and act like a bunny. I can't really be yours until I can give you everything you have given me. I mean I am already yours but I still sort of choke when things get... real? It's not about getting over an ex for me. I guess I still fight with reality sometimes. I want to make sure that, well I can give you as much as you give me. Foxes always give back what they take and bunnies share everything equally. This is as close as I can get...yet." He shook his head smiling as she held it out to him and he took it in his paw as she curled around him. "You gave me the world, the moon is as close as I can get."

"How did I give you the world?"

She giggled as he looked down at her. "You are the world to me Brute. Someday soon, I will be able to take care of you the same way and I hope you will be mine forever. I love you. Happy Birthday..."

A/N: Ok now for the one I wrote. This note is here to show that from here on it is a completely different story but they do have common themes which is why I put them together.

The old house was deep in the countryside where the lights of Zootopia could not interfere with the view of the night sky. It was huge and old fashioned in its design but that only added to it's suitability. Being so far away from big city life cut all distractions away for the writer to continue his work. It was the seclusion and the fact that it had a massive ballroom that made the site perfect for the planned event.

The writer was a tall midnight black furred wolf with a thin build and glasses. His name was Brutus Neyman. He had been planning this evening for nearly a year. Ever since he had invited her to move in with him. A female like her was what he had been waiting for all his life. Sandy was funny and shy but hid a fire in her that burned his very soul with passion. She was a hybrid mammal containing fox and bunny DNA in her genetic background. This manifested in her foxlike muzzle and long lapine ears. Every feature of her personality and body he had fallen in love with to the extent that she was all that he thought about some days. Of course this all led to tonight.

He had dinner nearly ready to be placed at the little table set for two. The ballroom's music system was all set up for a few slow songs for dancing after dinner. Finally as wolf tradition dictated he would take her on a walk under the light of the full moon to a tall hill and howl.

…

Sandy knew he was up to something. He had been grinning insufferably all night. That always meant trouble of some sort was in the offing. Usually it was just a gift or sex. Tonight however was nothing special as far as she knew and he didn't smell any hornier than usual so it meant something else. Dinner was wonderful. He had followed his mother's chicken enchilada recipe and even managed not to screw it up.

"Did I forget my birthday?" She asked offhandedly.

"No it's not even the right month, my love." He answered knowing that she knew exactly when her birthday was because he had made sure to make a big deal of it this year. "It's not any sort of anniversary either."

"My clever wolf has evaded my trap," she said while pretending to pout. "So what's going on? You have the crazy happy wolf grin on."

"Oh nothing I was just hoping you would like to dance with me tonight." He said trying to calm his muzzle enough to drop her suspicions. "And then maybe a little walk in the moonlight?"

"That sounds lovely." She answered smiling back.

…

A few minutes later they were dancing in the large empty ballroom to music they both enjoyed. Easiest way for them was to have her stand on his feet. It made the height difference negligible so that dancing close wasn't an exercise of 'don't knock over your partner.'

…

The night sky was clear of any clouds as they walked outside. Brutus held her paw more to feel her close than guide her. Day seemed to have been brought into the night with the brightness of the moon. Their feet enjoyed the coolness of the grass as they walked up the hill. Upon reaching the top Brutus let go and gazed into the moon. He howled a long low howl. Hearing it drove shivers down her spine as her love just seemed so primal howling like that. He turned to her with a smile.

"Did you like it?" He asked nervously with his paws in his pockets.

"Of course I liked it," she said putting her paws around his neck to pull him into a kiss. "It came from you after all."

"I have one more thing for you then." He said and pulled out his paws to paw her a small velvet box. "Will you marry me?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: A prequel of BBWolf and Little Red. Before he was a hero, he was her villain. Without further ado here is Black Iron. The cursed assassin destined for a lighter path. Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the inspiration behind Little Red the Beautiful Sandsstill. **

Wallace Furbourne, mink CEO of MCC, paced in his office nervously. The bodyguards he'd hired patrolled the floor of the building and were watching the cameras with diligence. Fluorescent lights overhead kept the shadows of midnight at bay. He looked out the window at his car in the lot that was lit by similar lights. Those lights went out.

His gasp of fear was noted by the head guard, a wolf holding a shotgun. "What's wrong, boss?"

Wallace looked over at him and murmured, "He's here."

"Shit." The wolf called in to his mammals demanding they report in immediately.

Three mammals never called in. The radio started playing a tune recognized as the calling card of Black Iron. The tune began as a happy little ditty before a hoarse, guttural, death metal scream cut it off and every light on the buildings top floor began flickering and going out for a couple seconds. Mr. Furbourne screamed as a tiger was thrown out one of the windows of the twenty story building. He caught a flash of black metal armor during one of the muzzle flashes of his guards weapons discharging before that guard and his weapon were silenced forever.

"Please, I tried to pay them back but the Feds found out what I was up to. It wasn't my fault!"

The pleading carried on as the blood covered armored form dispatched each and every guard with ease. Soon there was only Wallace and Black Iron. The lead guard lay nearby, his eyes blinking in surprise at his arms that were a good five feet away.

"I know you won't care if I offer you money to spare me so I won't. Instead I want you to kill those who hired you. Please. They will kill my family for my mistakes if you don't take this job."

"I'm listening." the deep voice growled at his target.

Black Iron towered over Wallace by a good four feet and easily over a hundred pounds heavier. Near as the mink could tell the killer was a wolf encased in blood slicked black metal. He couldn't even see eye holes in the menacing helmet. Furbourne swallowed his fear and hefted a briefcase onto his desk. The fearful small predator pressed the clasps and opened it to show, the mammal that was going to kill him, it's contents. Easily over a million dollars in hundreds was within.

"Is this enough?" his voice trembled as he asked.

The reply was in his ear and was the last thing he ever heard. "They will know fear before they die."

His body was found by his assistant early the next morning. The face of her boss looked funny with his head at that odd angle.

…

The assassin called Black Iron showed up at his clients home. The Cartel jaguar Eduardo Spotez never saw him enter but noticed his presence.

"Hierro Negro, is it done?" The large cat asked.

The deep voice echoed out of the black helm. "I wouldn't be here otherwise. I brought this picture to prove it so you can pay me now." The armored wolf pawed over a Polaroid of the broken body of Wallace Furbourne.

"I thought I would see it on the news," Eduardo asked, looking confused as he looked at the photo.

"He said something I found interesting. That you would have his family killed for his mistakes. I hope you weren't going to hire some lesser assassin."

"No, of course not. I just was going to ask if you wanted to handle it tonight for a nice bonus contract." The gangster sneered.

"I am pleased you would think I would sink that low. Just one little problem. He paid me already."

The lights died as one. Eduardo being a jaguar should have been able to see the killer in the dark but he was nowhere. The voices of his cats were calling out, first in frustration, then in confusion as music began playing from all their phones.

…

Little Red soared high above the city, her wings of flame holding her aloft as she listened and watched for trouble. The killings the past two nights had been brutal and she didn't want to find another massacre. This guy _had_ to have powers, like her. The bullets flattened by impact in the center of the room had no other explanation.

Something on a rooftop caught her eye. A dark form that did not reflect light. Her eyes barely caught sight of it. It was like a hole where light went to die.

_There he is._

Black Iron looked out over the city. He sighed, depressed. There was no need to keep doing this job. His accounts were safely laundered within his legitimate business and he had a child to care for so why was he still doing this? The magic medallion against his fur beneath the armor pulsed and he felt a tug from off the building. A brief thought of jumping crossed his mind until he saw the flying mammal that looked like a bird of flame.

_What?!_

Red landed across the rooftop from him gracefully ending her flight and the magic that sustained it the moment her feet alighted on the solid rooftop.

"You are the one who killed Mister Furbourne." The feminine voice stated flatly with no hint of question in it.

"And the one who ordered it, yes." He admitted. "Who are you? How are you able to fly encased in fire?"

"I could ask you something similar and I bet we both would answer the same." She said with a hint of a chuckle. "They call me Little Red."

"So you have one too?" He asked before manners reminded him to return the introduction. "I'm called Black Iron."

A nod from her confirmed his suspicion that they each possessed a magic medallion that was the source of their power.

"You need to turn yourself in."

"No I really don't. See I saved the fools family from the cartel. If he hadn't stolen from the cartel in the first place he wouldn't be dead. Now his family is safe from both."

"Who lives and who dies isn't up to you Mr. Iron."

"It's a job. One that pays well and I am very good at it." he shrugged before continuing, "One I hate, but it won't let me stop."

He started walking towards the heroine as he spoke. She threw a fireball directly into his face as he began running straight at her. It's light burned out quickly but it blinded him long enough for her to take to the air once more. The long cloak spread out like wings and ignited, taking her into the sky a second before the metal wolf crashed into the wall behind where she stood.

As the dust cleared Red saw that this Black Iron had vanished into the shadows.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So those who actually read this collection know about me and Sandsstill being an item. This story is a fantasy based one that she and I worked on together. It's not done but I kinda wanted a little feedback from my fans. Enjoy.**

**Hey There Dielyelah-**

Large wooden wheels turned in the soft dirt, catching in the underbelly of the damp ground and the wolf groaned as he shoved his feet into the ground and pulled again. The wheel dislodged from the back and he nearly tumbled over as it lunged forward. The lizards had been lost in the swamp after the wagon had gotten stuck and it had taken all his energy to pull it from the muck. The axels protested against every turn due to the mud stuck under the carriage, and the only reason the wheels had stayed intact was because he had opted for a set that were solid round hubs that held no spokes. His black fur was nearly invisible against the night and only someone with keen eyes would have caught the sheen the moon cast against it as he turned when a small voice called his ears from the back of the wagon.

"Andy? William?" he asked in a low voice looking in and curled his brow seeing the two young pups still sound asleep curled around each other. His ears lifted as he heard the voices of others in angry tones he wasn't going to risk on a certain female who was looking for him.

A fast assessment of the surroundings and he made a snap decision on using a spell that would conceal the wagon and his sons, but ran with the risk of him being found after expelling so much energy trying to get it out of the swamp. The woods were still far enough they would be seen with the level of the voices rising as they grew closer. The wagon sat between two large fields where low crops grew so there was nowhere they wouldn't be seen without the use of magic. He focused all his attention on the words of the spell and pulled all the energy he could from himself, asking the Gods to aid in keeping them safe until whatever danger may be heading their way had passed. Light of fire came into view as he stayed close to the wagon, as much on edge as on guard as the torches that were lifted into the night air waves back and forth.

The screaming from a large male directing them before they each tried to take off had his lips curling as he slipped into the back of the wagon when his oldest son sat up looking around and nearly yelped at the sight of the fires. "Andy, be still, let's not wake your brother. William isn't old enough to know to stay quiet yet. We are hidden." He shushed the little one back into the bed and watched him curl up with his younger brother as he rested on the back of the wagon petting his ears. A wide yawn lifted his paw as he kept his eyes on the mammals standing at the edge of the fields.

A large warthog was in a heated debate with what looked like a wolverine, but in the flickering lights he was unsure of their true species. "WE HAD AN AGREEMENT! YOU WANTED THE WITCH- I GAVE HER TO YOU! YOU BURN THE HOUSE SHE OWNED AND THE LAND IS MINE! IT IS NOT MY ISSUE IF YOU HAVE LOST HER- IT IS MY ISSUE IF YOU BURN THE CROPS ON THE LAND PROMISED ME AS PAYMENT!"

The larger of the two, whatever he was growled and set the others around him on edge. "A WITCH GREW IT, IT IS AS WORTHLESS AS SHE IS!"

The warthog lifted the torch he was holding and an outer ring surrounded them as he snorted. "I care not for your female or her fate, what she crafts in or why you seek her, but I will have what is owed me."

The wolf watching from the back of a cloaked wagon looked around, catching the smoke far beyond the tree line and glanced back at his sons as they stirred, petting their little ears until the sounds that had caused them to rustle faded with the light from the fires they carried. As he stood again, intent on getting away from possible danger to his sons, his ears shot up and eyes narrowed closer to the back of the wagon. A small growl at the thought of leaving them alone to investigate and his eyes shot to the moon as a shadow cast. The large wings tipped his head and he was smiling as an unseen Goddess to many others landed not far from everything he held dear.

"It is unlike a God to take interest in a mortal."

Her true form was hidden and all he could see was the shape she wished him to see as she looked into the wagon. "You know arts many others cannot work in spells. It always interests me when one of such caliber has potential I may find useful in the future."

"Gods do not make bargains with 'our kind' with nothing in return." He held his ground as the figure in front of him furled open and had to throw his paws up shielding his eyes as she nearly blinded him with her presence.

"Bold for one of your kind to outright make such a demand of a God when you have so much to lose." Even though he could barely see his teeth flashed and she left him blinking when she curled back into a dark shape. "I will keep them safe, for a time. The past will catch you at a place where I cannot be, and cannot protect them. Seek what it is wished for and it will be found here." He cocked his head looking around and she sighed.

"I wish to find something, here? There is nothing here." When the Goddess in front of him lowered her head, he looked around and growled. "Never ask a God because you'll never understand." He looked back at the wagon and out to the fields nodding. "Exactly what is keeping them safe for a time going to cost me?"

"The thing you will not give freely, without question, or without trust. We may call on you at any time, any place and ask for any spell or help you can offer, take you from where you are and cart you off at my, or their whim with the understanding that all in your band never question it and are loyal to the Gods. For a gift, for a time, you will stay one step ahead of those who hunt you at each turn."

"A gift…" He sighed looking around.

"A present." She responded pointing, and he looked back into the wagon. "Also a future, Brutus Blackfur. Betrayed by one who wishes to take both from you and may succeed should you not stop and smell the flowers. Warlock, do you accept this offer?"

"Yes." The wolf left, ticking his eyes back to the cart as she hovered watching his sons. He wandered through the low plants, letting the feeling of the soft soil under his toes perk his nose at each turn. "Flowers?" he sucked in another scent, pulling in the musty odor of swamp water and mud still clinging to his clothes and fur. He still couldn't pick up anything but the green foliage and what was being turned by his own feet.

A grumble and he looked back at the wagon, his face falling as the Goddess folded around it. His knees bent as he dropped, the wagon was gone, and several bandits riding smaller lizards stopped looking around and scratching their heads. "We lost his scent?!" He stayed low watching them argue before they rode back the direction they had come from, before seeing the shape of the wagon reappear, still covered by the Goddess with a barely visible outline he knew she was intentionally letting him see.

"Smartass." One step forward and his toe caught a root that had him falling face forward and smacking his lips as he lifted to his elbows. "Should have known better than to have said that." He rolled over and almost yelped as one of the longer plants smacked him on the head. "O.K I'M SORRY! ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT I SHOULDN'T BE SAYING REGARDING THE GODS?"

He fell back again as he tried to stand when she flashed in front of him. "Yes, Brutus Blackfur. Never forget our names or let those who travel in your band forget them." He got up scrunching his muzzle and took a deep breath.

"Good to know….ARTEMIS! Now what am I looking forughggh-" He tripped and got to his knees scowling as he looked at the tree stump in front of him and bit his tongue with all the thoughts going through his head as he heard her laughing. It couldn't have been Selene. Wait, did she say band…

His thoughts were halted along with the rest of him as a pair of bright green eyes looked up from a little ditch and he fell back as she shot forward growling at him. "WHOAH!" She was the most peculiar mammal he'd ever seen. Bright red fur, with long ears tipped in gray that hung past her shoulders that had sharp tips resembling the tip of her long tail. Her muzzle was a little wider than it should have been for a canine and too long for the teeth that resembled a…rabbit? He jumped as she shot forward again and grabbed her arm, swinging her until she was thrown away and turned back to him with both paws lifted. The wolf's eyes shot open as a blast of air ruffled his fur and he looked up watching her drop her paws at the shield he had thrown up to keep her magic from knocking him over. "You're a wizard?"

"No, a warlock. You're a witch." He said watching her as she looked him over. A simple nod was the only response he got as she clutched the end of the cross bow resting against her hip "Do you have a name, friend?"

"Friend?" she asked with one eye squinting as she tipped her head to the side and looked around. She frowned as he started grinning. "Friend or Foe, and you would smile not knowing the difference?"

"You're the one they were looking for, aren't you?" When she shot forward again, he grabbed the end of her crossbow and swung an arm out, nearly letting her fall. She was caught under the weight of the string across her chest and flipped before her back hit the ground, watching him holding the grip as he chuckled. "My name is Brutus."

She sighed and looked up before grabbing the bow with both paws and yanking him down in a sudden motion that landed him with one knee next to her lip. The shocked expression on his face as his ears tinted caused her to giggle as his ears pinned to his head. "Oh, you are cute." The wolf rolled his eyes and shook off the blush as he stood, extending a paw she glanced at before she grabbed it. They were both momentarily stumped by how easily he had pulled her from the ground. He had noticed she was fairly short but assumed she might be heavier with the way she moved and the strength she held. While she had looked and seen the dingy clothes covered in mud, but they laid over him in bags that clung to sticky fur or hung in places that made him look much smaller. When she nearly thumped into his chest and he dipped his face they were nearly nose to nose and she turned her head as her ears flared. "Well you are a Brute aren't you?" The wolf snickered as she looked up at him with a deep tint in her ears as he watched her trying to act like nothing had happened. "A warlock? So, you aren't one of them trying to find me."

"I was trying to find you, I just wasn't sure why." When he chuckled again she lifted a brow sneering at him.

"Why do you keep laughing?"

"You're ears. You keep trying to lift them, and they jump but you don't seem to be able to get them to go up…

When her lips curled looking him over with narrowed eyes he cleared his throat. "Don't go there…."

"Mortified." He mumbled as he turned and covered his muzzle. He looked back grinning as she giggled. "So, do you have a name?"

When she looked to the sky his ears perked. "Not one that I can carry. Each time I use it death comes to my door. I suppose I should find a new one so it doesn't see me as easily."

"Death finds us all eventually."

"The three fates have given me a past I can't outrun, a present I have barely escaped and a future that still seems dark. But I will keep singing to them, until I find one that looks brighter. We are capable of carrying life, but we are born with death on our lips. The first breath we take is our first kiss from the first, second, and third fates. Death lies in all of us, so I will keep singing until I find them all."

"Dielyelah."

"What?" she asked looking away from the moon and back to him.

"If you can't use your given name, maybe Dielyelah should be what you go by if you worship the three fates. The past, the present and the future….."

"I like it." When he looked up and back to the wagon she looked to the path seeing a large shift and jumped behind him squeaking. "What follows you and lurks there?"

"Artemis."

"You have a God watching over you?" she asked wide eyed as he looked back at her smiling. "Why would a God follow one of us?"

When he chuckled and held a paw up as if his finger and thumb were holding the moon, she cupped both paws to her muzzle as he plucked it from the sky. He rolled it around his paws and she leaned closer as it flipped through each finger like a coin. When the light disappeared, she looked at him holding her paws up under his. "You can hold the moon? Can I?"

"Only Artemis can hold the Moon." He held his closed paw up and she gasped reaching for it as his paw opened, only to find it suspended in the sky again. "But I do have some talents in the arts of magic not practiced by many." She watched him with furled brows, and he used one claw to dot the night sky and she watched in awe as the stars seemed to drop from the air and dance around her. One wave of his paw and they were back where they belonged.

When he returned his attention to her his ears flipped back as she seemed to be looking him over in a new light. "This? What is this?" He pointed to the necklace and she cupped it frowning.

"It's cracked." She sighed as she looked it over. "My mother told me once when I was very young that even the ugliest piece of sand could be taken in by an oyster, and they could make it into a beautiful pearl if they had enough time. She said all I needed was some time to grow."

Brutus frowned as she looked it over and reached for it shaking his head. "Sand is not always meant to be a pearl. It is a large part of something much bigger and beautiful in its own right… Each grain is an individual meant to be looked at like a snowflake. Different, still beautiful. I can repair it. It is a small spell that will only take a-"

"NO!" He jumped as she yelled and watched her cupping it in her paws biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I think I like it the way it is now."

"I have nowhere to be either. Would you like to travel with me?"

She looked up at him and back to the wagon chewing her cheek. "Do you always have a God with you?"

He smirked as he looked back and shook his head. "They will call me if they need me and I will go where I am needed. I have been told any who join me must worship them and accept this as…divine law. They seem to think you are meant to be part of it."

"The Gods told you to…"

"Stop here and find you, yes."

She looked up at him grinning as her ears tinted. "Who am I to argue with the Gods when they offer such a beautiful gift?" His ears flushed brighter as she shied her eyes giggling. "Are we to be traveling alone?"

"No. My sons are in the wagon. William is two and Andy is Four."

"You have no lizards pulling your wagon?"

He huffed and shook his head. "No. we got stuck in the swamp lands and I had to cut them loose or they would have drug us all down when they panicked in the sinking moss. It took me a while to get it out."

She looked him over seeing his clothes and understood why he looked a mess as she held a paw up. "May I?"

"Ugh?"

"I'm a healer. You are aching and sore. I can restore your strength for you if you allow me to touch you." A slow nod and she rested her paw on his chest and closed her eyes. A slight jolt set his fur on end and if he had suffered a memory loss or been hit with a mind wipe spell he might have assumed he'd just eaten a bag of raw coffee beans as every muscle warmed and soothed. She opened her eyes and looked up at him as he rolled his neck and felt all the stiff and sore spots tinge slightly as he held his arms out and looked back at her smiling. When her eyes rolled back he caught her as her knees gave out and hefted her up looking her over. "I'm sorry. I can heal others but not myself. It can drain my energy if I am already tired or weak and…"

"Why did you do that then? I would have been alright until we-"

"Sorry."

"Would you stop saying that?!"

"But I didn't mean to make you-

He rolled his eyes as she nodded off and carried her back to the wagon, lying her in the back as Artemis left the cover over the wagon and stood watching him pull a blanket over her. "You will go unseen this night and will not need to travel until midday. She is a hybrid. Her father was a rabbit and her mother was a red fox. They called her Sandy Stills."

"Sand…..and seashells? She was the heir to the Stills Fisheries? Why did you have me…" He turned to speak with her and growled in frustration at the empty space. A heavy sigh and he tilted sideways as he heard jingling that drew his attention to the front of the wagon where two lizards now stood harnessed to the wagon he had been pulling. He shook it off and crawled into the back, grabbing another blanket as he moved closer to the front and gaped at the sight of his sons curled up in the ball she had folded into. A few small whines and he chuckled as his youngest grabbed his tail, pulling him closer. The wolf froze as his tail was pulled into her arms with the two pups she was cuddling and sucked in a breath as he laid beside them listening to the unusual sound of her humming in her sleep. Even with the healing spell she had cast, his eyes closed after the long hours of hauling the wagon and Artemis looked within giggling as he curled around them…

…

Whispers from unsubtle small voices caused the female to stir in her sleep.

"Who she?" An immature voice asked aloud.

"Dada found her last night." another small voice answered. "I think he likes her."

Early morning light was inching in through the opening in the canvas as the two pups spoke about the mysterious female their father brought to them. Her unusual appearance mattered not to them as they both had a uniqueness all their own. Red fur predominated their heads and backs all the way to nearly the tips of their tails. Tails and ears were tipped in white while their underbellies from chin down were as black as a majority of their father's fur.

Brutus lay there awake with his eyes closed trying unsuccessfully to drift back to sleep. The stress of their retreat from their old lives had not given him much of a taste for sleep in weeks. A village wise one he once spoke to called it insomnia. Last night had been more restful than any in weeks.

Little did he know that the female formerly known as Sandy suffered from the same affliction and had been awake for far longer. For some reason she felt safe with him despite only having met him the night before. Her normally hyper alert ears did not wake her even when the young ones were speaking.

Grumbly bellies finally caused the pups to begin poking their father. "Dada, food?"

He tried not to grin and flicked his ears as though he could not feel their little paw pads. Still pretending to sleep as they became more insistent with their poking and prodding became more difficult as he struggled not to laugh. The pups crawled close to his face and bent to whisper in his ear that they were hungry. At that perfect moment he struck snatching them both up in a hug and licking the tops of their heads as they giggled wildly.

"Mmmm yummy puppies." He laughed as he kept licking them despite their giggles and squeaks for him to stop. "Alright you two I will make breakfast. Now, outside and play while I fix something and don't wake miss Dielyelah. She looks like she needs her rest."

With that the young ones left the wagon wiping their faces.

"That was adorable." she said, sitting up once the pups were gone. "You make a cute father for those boys."

"I have to be. Their mother isn't exactly the greatest mammal."

Her curious look prompted more from him without having to ask.

"She's more than a little crazy. After William came along she began disappearing to perform dark rituals to the darker Gods." his smile looked totally fake at this point. "Selene tried to sacrifice the boys. I left with them after I found out her plans."

Dielyelah clapped her paws over her muzzle in shock. "How could anyone do that to their own children?"

"I thought that since she was like us she would understand that we have to live here too. That she was a good mammal who had been abused. Not some total devil worshipping lunatic."

Dielyelah was holding him in an instant. Before he even realized he'd begun to cry. Her gentle paws smoothing the fur on the back of his head made him feel like he was going to be okay. After a few minutes of soothing him she helped him to fix them all something to eat.


	12. Chapter 12

Little Red

Finding it had been an accident of fate. That's what she told herself anyway. The clasp for an old riding cloak that had long since disintegrated but the metal was still pristine and it's delicate scrollwork etching would aid in the illusion of her costume. She hated being around crowds but this renaissance faire was for her youngest's school. Exceptions had to be made. She had sewed it to a blue cape as a brooch and left it for the next day. By the next morning the cape was red. At first she had thought one of her daughters had pulled a prank on her but dismissed it as the red color seemed to go with it better anyway.

Nobody expected that guy to attack the school. That he would try to hurt children was something every parent there hoped wouldn't happen. The first shot ended the security guard's life. The second missed it's intended target and went through a tent and into her chest. Sandy stared at the burning hole in her blouse and nearly fainted at the burning sensation that flooded through her entire body. The kids that had been in her tent for the tarot readings fled with the first shot so nobody was around to see her body ignite and the tent burn away.

She marched in the shooter's direction not knowing what was happening or why she wasn't running away. The mammal was a bull with a large semi-automatic weapon. He stared in disbelief at the burning female.

"What the hell?" he murmured.

A voice that was half hers answered but it hissed and popped as she spoke without any control over her own mouth. "The murder of innocents shall be punished with the eternal flame."

Her paws rose up to shoulder level and a stream of fire engulfed the criminal. She passed out and the flames vanished. Nobody saw what had happened.

…

Sandy Stills awoke in the hospital with her head ringing. She was still wearing her own clothes so she figured that they were only making sure she was alright.

_What the hell happened? _She thought.

And suddenly an answer popped into her head. The clasp of her cloak was more than just some pretty object. It was a talisman giving the user control over the element of fire. It had taken action to protect it's new user when her life was threatened.

After that day she took up the mantle of Little Red to spread the flames of justice.


End file.
